‘End of Hooliganism Has Come’ — Gov Bala Launches Scathing Attack on Wike, Tells Minister’s Camp to ‘Go and Leave Us Alone’

By Emmanuel Kwada

Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, on Tuesday unleashed a blistering verbal assault on Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, declaring that the era of “hooliganism, gangsterism and illegalism” in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is over and daring Wike and his supporters to leave the party if they are unhappy.

Speaking to journalists at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja shortly after the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) meetings, Governor Mohammed accused Wike of fuelling the lingering crisis in the opposition party through “impunity and arrogance.”

“That is the end of hooliganism,” Governor Mohammed declared. “They should go and leave us alone. Must we be together with this man(Wike)? Where is he working? Is he not working with the APC? Why don’t you ask him? Why would he be threatening everybody, saying he will put fire in their states? Is that a statesman?”

The Bauchi governor, who is also Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, did not spare words in describing Wike’s conduct.

“Wike is showing gangsterism, hooliganism and illegalism,” he said. “But they should know that it has come to an end. That is the end of hooliganism. They should go and leave us alone.”

Mohammed further accused security operatives of taking sides in the party’s internal disputes, claiming they had earlier attempted to prevent the legitimate NWC members from accessing the secretariat on the strength of what he called “a black-market injunction” allegedly sponsored by Wike’s camp.

He praised the police and other security agencies for eventually allowing the National Chairman, Barrister Turaki, and other NWC members to resume work, describing the development as a victory for due process.

The outburst is the latest escalation in the protracted PDP leadership crisis that has pitted Wike and his loyalists against governors and other stakeholders who insist that the North must complete the remaining tenure of suspended National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu.

Tuesday’s drama at the Wuse Zone 5 secretariat saw heavily armed police initially seal off the premises, only to later withdraw the barricade and allow Turaki and his team to enter and hold meetings. No governor aligned to Wike was reported present at the NWC or BoT meetings.

Governor Mohammed insisted that the PDP remains united under its legitimate leadership and will not be intimidated.

“We are here to work for PDP. We are here to bring PDP back to power in 2027,” he said. “Anybody who doesn’t want to be with us should honourably leave. We don’t need gangsterism, we don’t need hooliganism, we don’t need threats.”

As of Wednesday morning, neither Minister Wike nor any member of his camp had publicly responded to Governor Mohammed’s remarks.

The PDP crisis has continued to deepen, with the party struggling to present a united front ahead of the 2027 general elections. Observers say Tuesday’s public dressing-down by one of the party’s most influential governors signals that the rift between the pro-Wike and anti-Wike factions has reached a point of no return.